2016 timeline of the War in Somalia
This is a 2016 timeline of events in the War in Somalia (2009–present). January *January 1 - Gunmen open fire at a mosque near Mogadishu, killing 1 person and injuring 4 others including a Turkish aid worker. No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks but al-Shabaab are suspected to have orchestrated the attack. *January 2 - A popular restaurant in Mogadishu is attacked by a suicide bomber, killing 4 people including himself. *January 15 - al-Shabaab militants had raided an African Union base in southern Somalia with unconfirmed reports of dozens of soldiers being killed in the process. *January 21 - al-Shabaab militants attack the lido or beach area in Mogadishu, killing at least 20 people. February *February 2 - Daallo Airlines Flight 159 explodes in mid-air with only the suicide bomber dying but 2 remain injured. *February 5 - al-Shabaab has claimed to have seized control over the southern port town of Marka after Somali forces and AU forces leave. *February 15 - A car bomb in Mogadishu kills the defence minister and injures another. *February 26 - al-Shabaab militants raid the Somali Youth League hotel in Mogadishu, killing 14 people. *February 28 - At least 30 people are killed by al-Shabaab militants who bombed a restaurant near the town of Baidoa. March *March 7 - According to the Pentagon, US air strikes kill at least 150 al-Shabaab militants near the city of Buloburde. The Australian Navy also seizes an arms cache off Oman's coast heading towards Somalia. *March 9 - US troops stage an overnight raid on the al-Shabaab controlled city of Awdhegele in the Lower Shebelle region. *March 28 - At least 115 al-Shabaab militants are killed by Somali forces in the Galmudug region with an extra 110 captured. *March 31 - A suicide bomber in Puntland kills the treasurer of Galkayo, Saeed Ali, by hugging him, along with several officers guarding him. April *April 1 - A US drone strike reportedly kills a key al-Shabaab leader, Hassan Ali Dhoore, in Jilib and two other militants. *April 11 - At least five people are killed and seven others injured by a car bomb claimed by al-Shabaab against a government building in Mogadishu. *April 12 - For the past two days, US officials claim air strikes in southern Somalia killed a dozen suspected al-Shabaab militants. *April 16 - African Union troops kill 4 Somali civilians in the town of Bulla Marer in the south of Mogadishu. The AU mission claimed that soldiers had opened fire on a car in fear as the civilians failed to stop at a roadblock. May *May 2 - The first British troops are deployed in Somalia to help combat al-Shabaab as part of a UN mission. *May 9 - A suicide car bomb claimed by al-Shabaab blows up at Mogadishu's traffic police headquarters killing 4, including at least 2 Somali police officers. June *June 1 - al-Shabaab militants claim responsibility for a car bomb on a hotel in Mogadishu killing 16 and injuring a further 55. At the same time, the US declares an air strike killed a top al-Shabaab commander, Abdullahi Da'ud. *June 2 - At least 16 al-Shabaab militants are killed in a raid by Somali forces near Kismayo, including the mastermind behind the Garissa University College attack. *June 9 - al-Shabaab claims to have killed 60 Ethiopian troops at an AU base. *June 21 - Five police officers in Kenya are killed in an ambush by al-Shabaab near their convoy in El Wak, Kenya. *June 25 - An attack by gunmen on a hotel in Mogadishu sees at least 15 deaths, 25 injuries and an unknown number of hostages taken by al-Shabaab. *June 29 - Five suspected militants are killed by Kenyan forces in Lamu County after a clash and Malindi. July *July 1 - At least six are shot dead and several wounded by al-Shabaab militants in two ambushed buses in Mandera, Kenya near the border with Somalia. *July 11 - A clash between Somali forces and al-Shabaab sees 10 Somali troops killed and 12 al-Shabaab militants killed in Afgooye, Lower Shabelle. *July 14 - An alleged al-Shabaab militant shoots and kills four police officers in Kapenguria, Kenya. However, it is later revealed that it was a rogue officer instead. *July 26 - al-Shabaab claims responsibility for a double suicide car bombing near an AU base in Mogadishu at the airport killing at least 13 including seven UN guards. August *August 21 - At least 20 people are killed in a twin suicide bombing by al-Shabaab against a Puntland local government office in Galkayo. *August 30 - At least 10 people are killed by a car bomb detonated by al-Shabaab outside the President of Somalia's office. October *October 1 - Four people are killed with five injured by an al-Shabaab attack on a prison near Mogadishu. The Somali government also demands an explanation from the US after 22 civilians and other soldiers were killed in airstrikes in Galmudug as opposed to al-Shabaab militants. *October 4 - Somali forces kill 14 al-Shabaab militants in a raid in the Lower Shabelle region. *October 6 - At least 6 people are killed in an al-Shabaab attack in neighboring Kenya's Mandera. *October 25 - An intelligence officer is shot dead by an al-Shabaab militant in Mogadishu. *October 26 - A militant group aligned with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant seizes Qandala in Puntland. November *November 7 - A fight between militias in Galkayo kills 29 people and wounds 50 more. *November 26 - At least 20 people are killed in another car bomb attack in Mogadishu at a market. Somali forces arrest a suspect. *November 28 - At least 28 people are killed in a clash between militia and al-Shabaab in the southern Mudug region. *November 29 - A roadside bomb kills at least 4 Somali soldiers and leaves 11 others injured while forces have mulled an attack on ISIL. December *December 3 - Somali forces kill seven insurgents loyal to ISIL in a clash in the north of the country. See also *Operation Indian Ocean *War in Somalia (2009–present) References Category:2016 in Somalia Somalia 2016 Category:Lists of armed conflicts in 2016